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Then there were the regenerate classes, who performer! Vedic
sacrifice.". There were a few again, who accepted the Upanishads as a
teaching, but they could not boldly declare themselves against the
performance of sacrifices.
Rama finally did away with the Rakshasas. The bard who
sang his glory, the great Valmiki, thus began his lay: "O Killer of
birds, thou shalt not live for ever, as of the pair of storks thou hast
killed the male, so passionately attached to his consort." Verily the
Purusha in us, the ray of the supreme Purusha, becomes passionately
attached to the element of Prakriti in us, so that we may acquire
spiritual experiences through the body. And it is a cruel act to
separate our Prakritic individualities completely from him by turn-
ing ourselves persistently away from the Purusha. But when Rama
became an Avatara, the fate of the separator was sealed.
When the Rakshasas were killed, the Rishis were left free to
perform the Vedic sacrifices.
Rama did something more. He married the daughter of
Janaka, and by this act openly espoused the cause of the Upanishads.
Lastly Rama offered Himself as an object of worship. This
was the beginning of Vishnu worship, which makes no distinction
between classes and castes. Rama openly made friendship with
Guhaka, belonging to the lowest class, whom it was an abomination to
touch, for Guhaka was devotedly attached to Him, as an Incarnation
of Vishnu.
The world admired Rama. No man could reach such eminence.
He must be something more than a man. In time men accepted
him as an Avatara. At any rate, he was an example to others in
every respect. The ethical standard he laid down in his own life
was unimpeachable. The world had never seen such sacrifices in the
performance of the duties of life. A model king, a model son, a
model husband, a model brother, a model warrior, a model friend, the
model of models, Rama left an indelible mark as a religious and
moral teacher, on the age in which he lived, and on all succeeding
ages.
The example was not lost on the world. The many-sided
picture, that Rama presented, produced a spirit of enquiry, which has
never been rivalled in this Kalpa. Men thought on different lines.
They studied the Upanishads, which had been favoured by Rama.
They could not forget also that Rama taught salvation for the performers
of Vedic sacrifices. Then there was the teaching of his own life. The
light was manifold. Independent schools of thought grew up, notably
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